Edgar Allan Poe — “The Tell-Tale Heart”

Commentary:

Characters:

Narrator (unnamed) - The narrator in this story is also the protagonist. In declaring that he is not
mad, he instills in the reader the sense that he might indeed be mad, and confirms it as the story proceeds. Although his gender
is not specifically identified, it is generally presumed as male.

The old man (unnamed) - A few commentators have suggested that the old man is the father of the
narrator, some going so far as to hint at a connection to the difficult relationship between Poe and his foster father, John
Allan. This suggestion, however, is not directly supported by a close reading of the tale and an understanding of the context in
which it was written, and is, perhaps, too inclined towards psycho-biographical readings to be taken very seriously.

Text-03 — “The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1843-1845 — speculated revised copy of the
Pioneer (Text-02), perhaps in anticipation of publication as Text-04. (These revisions are presumably recorded in Text-04.
The changes between Text-02 and Text-04 are slight enough that a new manuscript is unlikely, but not so minor that they would
reasonably have been made during typesetting or in correcting proofs for Text-04.)

Text-05 — “The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1845-1849 — speculated revised copy of the
Broadway Journal (Text-04), perhaps in anticipation of a new edition of Poe’s tales. (These revisions are presumably
recorded in Text-06. The changes are slight enough that a new manuscript is highly unlikely, but not so minor that they would
reasonably have been made during typesetting or in correcting proofs for Text-06. At least some of these changes are significant
enough that they suggest the hand of the author rather than of Griswold as editor.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — January 11, 1843 — New York Sun (noted as reprinted
“From the Pioneers” [sic]) (A copy of this issue is in the Koester Poe Collection, Harry Ransom Center, Univerity of
Texas at Austin)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1893 — The Encore Reciter; Humorous, Serious and Dramatic
Selections, compiled and edited by F. E. Marshall Steele (London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co.), pp. 181-183 (noted at
the end as abridged, and by Edgar Allan Poe. Also includes four other tales by Poe.)

Le coeur mort qui bat” — 1880 — Le Désert, Limoges: Charles Barbou (French
translation by de Roul Bourdier) (This is the only translation of a tale by Poe in this book. Otherwise, the book translates a
work by Captain Mayne Reid.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — March 29, 1936 — a radio show broadcast on the Terror by
Night show. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been modified.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — July 11, 1937 — a radio show broadcast on the CBS Columbia
Workshop show. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been modified.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — November 5, 1937 — a radio show broadcast on the Black
Night show. This was a local show on WBAP, originating in Fort Worth, Texas (1937-1939). It starred Nelson Olmsted, who later
achieved some fame for this spoken word recordings.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — August 3, 1941 — a radio show broadcast on the Inner
Sanctum show, starring Boris Karloff. (This episode is available on CD as part of a 6-CD set of “Smithsonian Legendary
Performers,” issued in 2004. As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been
modified. It this case, it is so heavily adapted that little of the original story remains, and much has been added, including names
for the main characters, with Karloff as “Simon” and another actor as “Oliver,” the old man who is killed.
The sponsor for the show is Carter’ Little Liver Pills.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — January 30, 1944 — a radio show broadcast on the Weird
Circle show. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been modified.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — August 23, 1946 — a radio show broadcast on The Mercury
Theater of the Air show, with Orson Welles.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — January 14, 1950 — a radio show broadcast on The Hall of
Fantasy show, introduced as “dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown.” (As was often the case
with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been modified.) (This show as apparently rebroadcast on June 5,
1950.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — June 1, 1953 — a radio show broadcast on The Hall of
Fantasy show, introduced as “dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual and the unknown.” (As was often the case
with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been modified.) Performers include Eloise Kummer. This show was
rebroadcast on November 9, 1953.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1953 — a UPA (United Productions of America) Technicolor
cartoon, narrated by James Mason, and with music by Boris Kremenliev. It was animated by Pat Matthews, designed by Paul Julian, and
distributed by Columbia Pictures.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1962 — a reading by Richard Taylor on Nightmare: Edgar Allan
Poe, issued on the Random Records label (M-36, side B) (running time, about 13:44) (This is a very cheaply produced 33 1/3 LP,
with a single narrator speaking over a very reverberant and somewhat off-key electric guitar played for atmosphere. The jacket
features simple black and white graphics. The narrator, who has a surprisingly high voice and a detectable Brooklyn accent, is noted
as being 21 at the time of the recording. This album was initially advertised for $1.98, and 25¢ for shipping and handling,
while each of the remaining albums in the 4-album set was advertised for $2.98. The $1.98 price was apparently a typographical error
and it appears to have been corrected in later printings. Side A is “The Pit and the Pendulum”)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1966 — a reading by low-budget horror film producer William
Castle on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, issued by Hanna Barbera (HLP-2056) (this item is an LP issued as part
of a “cartoon series.” The cover features a very dramatic color drawing of the murderer having just killed the old man,
and about to reach for an ax. At the bottom, it boasts that this is “THE MOST FRIGHTENING ALBUM EVER MADE.” The
recording runs about 16:09.)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — 1971 — a reading by Martin Donegan as part of volume VII of
Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe, issued on the CMS Records label (CMS-630)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” — August 1, 1980 — a radio show broadcast produced for CBC
(Toronto), with Henry Ramer as host. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works, the story has been
modified.) (The show was rebroadcast on March 7, 1982)

”The Tell-Tale Heart” — September 29, 1998 — a radio show broadcast on the NPR
Playhouse show, for the Radio Tales series. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works,
the story has been modified.) The show was produced by Winnie Waldron and Winifred Phillips. It debuted on XM Satellite Radio on
December 27, 2003.

”The Tell-Tale Heart” — October 31, 2004 — a radio show broadcast by Glenn Beck, for his
Mercury Radio Arts production company (A fairly direct and unremarkable reading of the story, supplemented by some sound effects and
touches of music, with a brief introduction and a few, mostly rather annoying, auditory effects. The reading has been released on
CD-R, distributed by his own online store and thus presumably authorized.)